# Legal Pokemon ROM Hacking?



## Ivy Newton (May 3, 2009)

So... I really really really want to make a ROM hack, but I have no idea how to get started ^.^;;
And I'm a total stickler for rules, so I really want to do it entirely legally if possible.

Just point me to a legitimate and safe download of VisualBoyAdvance or some other such program, and what I need to do to get an editable ROM legally.
And some good scripting tutorials, if possible.

Please and thank you?

I probably sound like a total idiot, but ah well.


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## Involuntary Twitch (May 3, 2009)

Owning a ROM is not legal. It is not legal even if you own a copy of the game. The act of downloading for free, as opposed to actually purchasing the game, is illegal. You could do it legally if you purchased a device to dump your own cartridge, but that's an excessive amount of time and effort and if you really want to learn to hack then it's not worth it do to it legally.

However, the act of hacking the ROM and editing and tampering with the data is absolutely legal, as long as you don't sell it. You can provide it for others via an ips patch, which requires them to do the evil deed of downloading their own rom on which they'll apply the patch.

...But, really. Legality and that kind of hodgepodge doesn't matter really. Although, if you ask me, I'd advise you to make a game in RMXP instead of hacking-- it's less effort, and if you don't pirate RMXP (although you probably will; the real thing costs an insane amount of money) it's totally legal. But. Um. Suck it up; this is the internet, some smarmy lawyer will find something wrong with everything you do, and nobody's gonna care if you just download one game for the purposes of hacking.


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## Ivy Newton (May 3, 2009)

Still need to be pointed to the downloads =)


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## Aethelstan (May 3, 2009)

MOD EDIT: I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S STILL A THING AGAINST THIS BUT IT IS, IN GENERAL, A _BAD PLAN_ TO POST THIS STUFF WHERE EVERYONE CAN EASILY GET IT.  PM THE GUY INSTEAD.


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## surskitty (May 3, 2009)

Ask for people to PM you download links, Mumei.  I sent you and Aethelstan the contents of his post, but er.


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## Astral (Jun 26, 2009)

Ah, yes. I made a really good post about this on another forum, and I think it mostly applies here. ^_^
---


			
				me on another forum said:
			
		

> First off, you'll have to get your hands on a ROM of a Pokémon game. However, I cannot tell you where to find one, nor can I upload one to this site, so, I can only say that you should Google it.
> 
> Next, you'll need to probably get VBA (Visual Boy Advance). It's a computer emulator; basically, it allows you to play the game of whatever ROM you got on the computer. It's mostly used for playing through another hack, or testing your own hack for bugs, although it has several more advanced functions that you will probably learn how to use eventually.
> 
> ...


---

It's pretty long, though. Some of it might not make the best of sense here (like the Progressing Hacks stuff; this was written mostly for another forum that has different subsections than this, so I wrote it about that. :P)

Seriously, though, if you're looking for hacking tools and tutorials, there is no better place than here. I *am* allowed to link to other forums, right? Well, if not, phooey. :/

Anyways, feel free to ask me if you have any questions. I know a lot about this topic. :D


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## piplupthingie (Nov 3, 2009)

^That makes sense, and ROMs are legal if you own the game.
-Some expert on ROMs, Zel or chuggaconroy, I think.


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## surskitty (Nov 3, 2009)

No.  No, they are not actually legal if you own the game.  You can claim that it's for backup purposes but it's ... not really the case.


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## Momoharu (Nov 3, 2009)

Go to PokeCommunity, they have an entire board dedicated to this. ._.


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